Cooling mash

Anything cooling/condenser related.

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Tennessee_Spirits
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Joined: Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:45 am
Location: Memphis Tennessee

Cooling mash

Post by Tennessee_Spirits »

I use a two stage mashing process using a 15 gallon mash tun and a RIMs heater and pump. I prefer a countercurrent wort chiller over an immersion type. It is more efficient cooling. The one I use looks like this
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I put quick connects on it for the inner mash circuit and hose connectors for the cooling circuit. This way the hoses can be easily cleaned and the unit could be easily bypassed or otherwise plumbed differently.
My mashing first stage is corn gelatinization and alpha amylase hydrolysis using SEBstar Htl at 185 F. The problem I am trying to solve has two parts. One is cooling to the second stage at 150F and cooling to 100F after the boil. The RIMs heater has a 2000 watt 120 volt element. So I automated the cooling by adding a second PID to the 120 volt controller so that it could control cooling by powering an electric water valve. The coil on the valve is 120 Volt and about 50 MA, so I switch the valve with a relay equipped PID to avoid another SSR. I got brass connectors to fit a hose to the valve and everything to the heat exchanger is fuel line hose (as pressure is too high on this side for vinyl hose. Vinyl hose goes out the garage door to dump the hot water.
So with this set up the sensor is the same thermocouple on the RIM output so one sensor serves it all.
It takes about 15 minutes to cool 40 lbs grain in a total volume of 15 gallons for the second stage mash.
It takes about 30 minutes to cool 10 gallons of boiling hot mash to 100F. I boil 20 minutes and use the boil to sterilize the mash and equipment.
Then I pitch yeast. The cooling system means quick cooldown without having to watch it constantly and avoiding overcooling.
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